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Monday, January 31, 2011

panko crusted eggplant stacks with red wax gouda

Today I'm showcasing Red Wax Gouda. I'm a shameless cheese stalker at Wegman's Cheese Department and I think they offered me samples of three distinct types of Gouda just to get me to eat something and leave the poor cheeses alone. I settled on the Red Wax Gouda because I loved the mild semi-soft creamy taste of it. I got a nice sized wedge of it for $2.80.Gouda is an excellent choice if you like semi-soft mild cheese. Not soft enough to spread with a knife but soft enough to cut in to chunks and it melts nicely if you're using it for cooking. In fact, I think that this is a candidate for one outstanding macaroni and cheese dish. But today I decided to make Panko Crusted Eggplant Stacks with Red Wax Gouda for lunch. Oh. My. God. It's so simple, really.

Start off with a nice eggplant and cut it in to some nice semi-thick slices. Coat the slices with an egg wash, dip them in to some panko crumbs and saute them in olive oil on medium high heat until they are brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400.

In the meantime, cut a fresh tomato in to thick slices. Cut your gouda in to some thick slices as well. Line a cookie sheet with foil and let the stacking begin. Eggplant-tomato slice-gouda slice-eggplant, etc...Today I got a little adventurous. I made two eggplant stacks. On one stack I put some olive tapenade in between the layers and on the other stack I put some prepared pesto in between the layers for some extra kick. You can find both of these delicious products at Trader Joe's.Here is the stack with the olive tapenade:Here is the stack with the pesto:Place the stacks on the foil lined cookie sheet in to the oven and bake at 400 until the cheese melts. About 10 minutes. While the stacks were baking in the oven, I took a handful of wild baby arugula and tossed it with a handful of toasted walnuts and a splash of raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Amazing Grace. Seriously.